Can We Start Again?
by daphrose
Summary: She looked up at the back wall, where the heart with their initials sat. The quake had created a crack that ran straight down the middle. Normally she would've laughed at Mother Nature's sense of irony, but not this time. Now she only felt hollow inside. (Secret Santa gift for purpledolphin05)


**Greetings everyone, and happy 2016! Can you believe it's here already? Whoa. I feel so old!**

 **Anyway, as many of you know, this year Lea Ooroti and Stardust16 put on a Secret Santa for Christmas. Me and a lot of other people participated, and I got to write a story for the always amazing purpledolpin05. Yay!**

 **Purpledolphin, on your form I saw that you like Janelleo and romance. Since I don't know much about your OCs, I decided to go with the ship I best know how to write. I've kinda moved away from Janelleo over the past few months, but this is kind of a reconciling for me, so I hope you like it!**

 **This story is based off the song "Start Again" by Red, because I've really been wanting to write a story to this song, and its strong romantic undertones work for this one. :) Feel free to listen to it while you read.**

 **Disney owns Lab Rats and Mighty Med, I don't know who owns Instagram, but it's not me, purpledolphin05 owns any of her OCs, and I own this story. Enjoy. :)**

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 *** * * Can We Start Again? * * ***

* * *

Janelle yawned and rolled over, sliding her phone open—the same she did every morning. She opened Instagram and scrolled through the new posts, most of which revolved around her friends cheering about the first day of winter break. She saw a few bedhead pics and was about to take one of her own, but then she saw a photo of _him_.

 _He_ and his siblings stood in their training room, posing with several students behind them. The caption read "Bionic heroes don't get breaks #savingtheworld #morefunthanitlooks".

Janelle couldn't help but chuckle. Nonetheless, she felt a terrible aching in her stomach—something she'd been waking up with more and more frequently as of late. She didn't know why; _she_ had broken up with _him_.

After all, he lived a few hundred miles away—out in the ocean, no less. Sure, the hydroloop thing could take him home in minutes, but he spent more and more time out there, and she had never been one for long-distance relationships.

So maybe that wasn't her only reason, but it was the only reason he needed to know. They had been drifting apart for a while now, and she thought it was high time to end it. Might as well spare both their feelings lest they wind up disappointed.

Janelle closed the app and her phone, the desire to take a bedhead pic obstinately replaced with a vaguely nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, which she could do little about except chose to ignore.

* * *

The cold morning air whipped her cheeks, and the sky threatened rain. Janelle didn't care. She had always been an early riser, and even the worst weather couldn't deter her from walking around the park. She tucked her scarf closer to her neck and stuffed her hands in her pockets. A thousand thoughts whirred through her mind—some about the latest issue of _Titanio_ , and some about _him_.

Her favorite hero's latest battle with Soul Slayer quickly got pushed to the edges of her mind, and no matter how much she tried to focus on it, her thoughts began to drift.

 _He_ used to go on these walks her. They would get up before school, and sometimes he would show up at her house early on Saturdays with a grin on his face and a water bottle in his hand.

She raised her own water bottle to her lips, only to remember that he had given it to her for her last birthday. Her old one had shattered when she dropped it on the sidewalk while laughing at one of his hilarious jokes. He had gotten her one with the League of Heroes logo on it. Most boyfriends wouldn't think to get their girlfriends a water bottle with a comic book image on it, but he knew her.

Janelle wandered away from the path and trudged through the long grass, letting it swish against her tennis shoes as she made her way to a particular destination.

She didn't know why she wanted to go there; it was another thing that reminded her of _him_. He had shown it to her several years ago, before they tried to date, before bionics took front and center in his life, before . . . before anything complicated.

The place in question was a small cave, lodged at the base of one the hills that circled the valley which housed Mission Creek. It went deeper than it looked from the outside, and it was plenty high enough for her—and him—to stand up straight.

She put her hand on the top edge of the opening and stared inside. She reached behind a rock nearby and pulled out a flashlight, one they had left there for just such adventures as this.

The world seemed to disappear inside the cave. Everything else was outside, out in the big, scary world, but in here . . . in here she could forget all that. They used to sit in the back of the cave with their comic books and their homework, going back and forth. One completed worksheet got rewarded with three pages of a graphic novel.

Janelle reached the back of the cave, several yards from the entrance and not lit by any natural light. She crouched down and pointed the flashlight at the rocks, moving the beam over various etchings in the wall.

 _L-Doo was here_

 _Janelle Persephone Brown_

 _10/7/13: Skylar Storm lost her powers! What?!_

 _6/9/14: Sonic Shriek almost destroyed a bridge, but Captain Atomic and Tecton stopped him. Oh yeah!_

 _y=mx+b_

Janelle chuckled at the last one. Though she adored science, math sometimes became a struggle for her, and she had had particular trouble remembering the formulas for lines. _He_ had insisted she etch them into the wall of the cave, because, as he said, "If you write it in a cave wall, you'll never forget it again."

More markings had dates along with impressive comic books moments they'd found stupendous and worthy of eternal enshrinement in rock. They happened every few months, some written in her handwriting and some in his. They'd often argued about what was "stupendous" and good enough to be written on the wall, and as such she considered some of the fictional events to be entirely unremarkable and not important to the superhero universe, but they had gradually become important to her because they were important to _him_.

Above all those markings, front and center, sat a newer sign, one that read, "LFD + JPB," surrounded by a heart. They'd drawn that one together only a few months back, when they finally made their relationship official. Even then she'd had her doubts, and she'd hesitated to write her initials, but he talked her into it with his gentle voice and sweet smile.

Janelle sat in the corner, placed her water bottle on the floor beside her, and pulled out her phone. She opened her text messages with _him_ and scanned over their last conversations. A few weeks ago they'd discussed their dinner plans. She'd broken up with him the next day, and the only text he'd sent since then said, "Saw the tailer for the new Tecton movie this morning. Thinking of you." She'd never found the stomach to respond, but now with her fingers hovering over the keys, she desperately tried to find the right words. She knew she needed to say something, but she also knew that finding the right words to say would be near-impossible.

Eventually she let her hand drop to her side. Nothing she thought of seemed appropriate to send. She could think of a thousand snippy phrases to say, but for some reason she didn't want to use her bitter sarcasm against him this time.

Janelle groaned. "What am I doing in here, anyway?" she whispered to herself. "I broke up with him. He's the one who shouldn't be able to move on. Ugh . . . no. I'm getting out of this stupid cave and going _home_." She took a few steps forward and frowned. "And now I'm talking to myself. Wonderful."

She took another step forward and lost her balance, reaching out for the cave wall to stay upright. She looked around, her mouth agape. That wasn't a simple misstep; she was certain the ground shook underneath her.

Janelle hurried toward the front of the cave, but not before another jolt rocked the world and knocked her off her feet. Her phone and flashlight fell out of her hand and bounced on the ground, along with some of the rocks above her. She screamed as the ground trembled and she fell to her knees, covering her head.

The whole earth shook, and Janelle could only sit in her huddled-up ball, waiting in fear for it to stop. Debris rained on her back, and she prayed that nothing bigger would fall on her.

After what seemed like an eternity, everything stilled. Janelle looked up, wiping her hair out of her face. She fumbled for the flashlight and used it to survey her surroundings. It only took a second to recognize the dire situation: the rocks had fallen in front of her, floor to ceiling, and blocking off the exit of the cave.

Janelle got to her feet and hurled herself at the new wall, tearing away small pebbles and ignoring the chips in her nails. Finally she gave up and stepped back, her eyes wide with fear. There was no way out. She was trapped.

"Help!" she screamed. "Someone help me!" She knew it would be futile.

Scanning the wall closely, Janelle found a hole towards the bottom through which a precious beam of light streamed. She tried to loosen the rocks there, but they refused to budge. At least she had oxygen, but that didn't help knowing that she could die from starvation or dehydration, closed off from civilization.

Wait, she had water! Her League of Heroes water bottle! She rushed back into the cave, but all she found were shards of plastic and a stream of water running over the stones. She wondered if she would become desperate enough to lap it up off the floor, but she recoiled at the thought. Did she truly have no hope left?

Her phone. Janelle ran back, looking for her cherished device. It took only a few seconds to find it, and it also only took a few seconds to dash all her hopes against the rocks.

The phone's screen had cracked in so many places that Janelle was afraid to pick it up for fear of cutting herself. So much for calling for help.

She sat towards the back of the cave, in the same place she and _him_ had sat so many times before. Where they had done their homework, where they'd confided their secrets, where they'd read comic books and shared the investment in their favorite heroes' journeys.

Janelle wasn't one to get emotional, but she could feel the tears coming on. Would this be the end of it all? She would die in the same place she had found so much joy. Her last minutes would be full of thoughts of _him_ , full of regret and sorrow.

She looked up at the back wall, where the heart with their initials sat. The quake had created a crack that ran straight down the middle. Normally she would've laughed at Mother Nature's sense of irony, but not this time. Now she only felt hollow inside.

Janelle put her head on her knees and closed her eyes. "Leo, I'm sorry."

At that moment, a noise came from the cave entrance. She looked up and wiped the tear streaks off her face. The rocks from the cave-in fell away, and there, standing with the sunlight behind him, stood the one who shared the cave with her.

"Janelle!" Leo said, his eyes wide. He ran over and scooped her up in his arms. "Are you okay? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Leo. I'm fine!"

"Good." He took a step back and smiled. Then it slowly faded, and his arms fell away. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her.

"Leo," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For hurting you."

"Janelle, you didn't hurt me."

"I've hurt you a lot, and you're still my friend. I broke up with you, and you texted me about a Tecton movie. You're so sweet and you care about me, no matter how nasty I am to you."

Leo shrugged. "I love you a lot, Janelle. I just want you to be happy."

She could feel the tears on the back of her eyes. "Even when I didn't think about you."

The ground shook again, and she shrieked. Leo pushed her down and covered her with his body. She closed her eyes and waited out the aftershock, thinking that perhaps it would've been wise to talk to him _after_ they exited the cave.

Finally the rumbling stopped, and Janelle crawled out of Leo's arms. "Thank you," she said as she exhaled. "Leo, are you okay?"

"Kinda," he groaned, squirming around on the ground.

Janelle gasped when she realized that his arm was pinned under another pile of rocks. "Can you get out?"

He winced and tried to push them away. "That's my bionic arm," he whispered.

"So you can lift them off, right?"

He tried, but nothing happened. "There are too many." He looked up at her. "I can't even feel my arm."

She bit her lip and looked back at the front of the cave. Her heart sank in her chest when she saw another wall separating them from the exit. "Not again."

"People saw me go in here. It's okay; someone will get us out eventually."

Janelle sat cross-legged beside Leo. "Why did you come in here?"

"Well, Mom actually made me come home today and do some Christmas shopping with her. We were across the street when the earthquake happened, and some people got trapped in that pavilion in the center of the park. But then I saw the cave—our cave—and, I don't know . . . I just had a feeling."

Janelle nodded. "You're always the hero."

He smirked. "I try."

She sighed. He couldn't run now, and she had some things she needed to get off her chest. "Leo . . . you've never met my dad, right?"

He frowned. "No, I don't think so."

"You haven't. I haven't seen him since I was seven. He left my mom for another girl."

"Oh . . . I'm sorry, Janelle."

"I've always thought that love is only temporary." She wrung her hands and wondered if pouring out her life's story was a good idea. If anyone had to know, though, she knew it had to be him. "That it's something people feel and then move on from when it's not the bright and shiny new object people think it is. But you've been chasing me for years, and you've never given up. I think you proved me wrong."

"Well," Leo said, "my dad ran away when I was little, too, you know. You're not the only one who's wondered what it means to love someone. But I think it's when you deeply care about someone—enough to do anything for them. That's the way my Mom and Davenport feel, and that's the way I feel about you. Even if you don't love me back, I'm still going to love you. You mean a lot to me, Janelle, whether we're boyfriend and girlfriend or just friends."

Janelle frowned. "You think I don't love you?"

Leo shrugged with the shoulder not connected to the trapped arm. "I think you haven't figured that out yet."

"I think I have."

"Oh?"

Janelle put a hand on his shoulder, blinked, and kissed him. After a few seconds she pulled away.

"So," Leo said, trying to hide his grin, "does this mean we're officially un-broken-up?"

"I think it does. And Leo, I'm sorry for always giving you such a hard time. I'm going to work on caring about you, okay?"

"Whatever you do, I'll still love you."

Leo put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her close, kissing her again. They kept going, trapped in a cave, and entirely oblivious when someone came crashing through the wall and into their underground chamber to rescue them.

Janelle and Leo broke apart to see none other the Adam Davenport standing there, his hands covered in dust.

"Can you give us a second, Adam?" Leo said, gesturing to his new-old girlfriend.

Adam shrugged. "No problem." He bounded out of the cave, leaving behind a bewildered girl and his amused stepbrother.

"He'll be back," Leo said. "Meanwhile, I think we were in the middle of something?"

A few minutes later they were rescued by Bree and Chase—the former excited over the kisses she saw and the latter disgusted. With Adam's help, they got Leo free of the rocks and escorted the two back outside. Janelle turned her face towards the sun, never so happy for natural light in all her life.

"Are you going to be okay, Leo?" she asked as her new-old boyfriend wrapped his injured arm in a towel provided him.

"Eh, I've been through worse." He shook his head. "Wow. I've been through worse. How crazy is my life?" They laughed together.

A few minutes later, after cleaning up other disasters created by the earthquake—they soon learned that it registered at 6.2 on the Richter scale; not a small quake—the bionic team got ready to leave for the island.

"So," Janelle said before Leo could leave, "there's a new Solar Flare comic out. Do you want to get together and read it sometime this week?"

Leo smiled. "I'd love to. Just . . . maybe not in the cave."

Janelle's eyes widened and she shook her head. "My house. I . . . I want to show you a picture of my dad."

"Sure. I'll be there on Sunday. That work?"

"Yeah. I'll see you then."

Leo snagged a quick peck on her cheek before walking over to join his siblings. "See you then."

Adam grinned and clapped his younger brother on the back. "That was insane! Can't wait to tell Sakura about this one."

* * *

 **Couldn't be a fic for purpledolphin05 without mentioning Sakura. :3**

 **Yeah. Hooray for a boatload of Mighty Med references! And if any of you are skeptical, remember that in "Can I Borrow the Helicopter?" Leo mentioned that Janelle liked science and comic books. Boom! And I know purpledolphin likes Mighty Med too, so I had to throw some in there.**

 **Just so you guys know, something is up with FanFiction's review system, so new reviews won't show up when you click on them in a story. I get them in my email, so I can still see them, but they won't show up on the site for probably a few days. (It's not an uncommon glitch for FFN; just give it some time. They'll be back again in less than a week, if we're lucky.)**

 **But review anyway, because I can see them! :D Also, wow, first fic of 2016. Insanity. You know what the last thing I did in 2015 was? Well, okay, technically it was listen to Skillet. But before that, I worked on War Torn, up until 11:58 p.m. I've got a lot of awesome stuff to bring you in this new year, so keep an eye out! :D**

 **Anyway, purpledolphin05, I hope you liked it! I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope the fluffy Janelleo moments and MM references pleased you. :3 And hey, everyone else! Why don't you go check out a few of her stories? She's a mighty fine author herself. :)**

 **Hope everyone liked it, especially purpledolphin05. Let me know what you thought through review, and I'll see you all later! Bye!**


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